Backwater creeks and mud coves in this area are prime shrimp habitat, as are grassflats along the western shore. Shrimp are the primary food source in the area, especially during winter and spring when they’re being pulled from the shallows toward the inlet. For this reason, live shrimp are hard to beat for just about any gamefish. Freelined or fished under a cork, they’re deadly on trout and snook. The locals here like to use something a little different, what they call a “shrimp and booger” combination for redfish. It’s not as bad as it sounds, made by breaking off a single joint of shrimp, peeling off the shell and sliding the meat onto the hook and up toward the eye. A live shrimp is then pegged to the business end of the hook. The “booger” adds scent to the water and allows redfish to home in on the entire shrimp.

Wading birds indicate bait and extreme shallows.

South of the Wabasso Causeway near Hole-in-The-Wall Island, the Intracoastal Waterway (ICW) takes a turn east to avoid shallows in that area. As the ICW runs past several islands, it touches a group of small openings that lead into shallow coves and cuts through islands that are home to the area’s redfish population.

The east side of Indian River is dotted with small coves that join creeks or portions of the river separated by islands, along with large areas of canals, deep holes and hidden bays in the middle of islands, somewhat like urban Southwest Florida. Meanwhile, the west side of the river is one long shoreline with an occasional point of land or small canal.

The terrain is so different from one side of the river to the other, styles of fishing each side differ substantially. Most anglers wade, idle or ease along with trolling motors on the west shore. On the east shore, they really hug the mangroves. Even though the topography on each side is different, you’ll find redfish, trout and snook in about equal numbers.

I found out how good it can be on the west side of the river one day about eight years ago, when fishing with a guide out of Stuart who brought me “up north” just because I needed to see the show. Launching at the ramp on the south side of Wabasso Causeway we headed south, fishing grassy areas with large sand banks. The reds worked their way down the grassy edge of the sand, never moving over the sand but always close enough to dart out onto the bar if a shrimp or crab popped up.

We were throwing crab flies, and tried to cast close enough to fish that they could hear the plop of fly hitting water. The red would turn, locate the fly and lunge for it. Twice I had redfish pin the crab so hard against the bottom that I had trouble setting the hook with my seven-weight outfit. Each fish blew the fly out of its mouth and swam away in a huff.

Over the course of a morning we found singles, pairs and triples, and then one big school of maybe 50 fish waking across a flat, heading south on matters of importance, a sight to see. Along with redfish that day were assorted trout and several nice snook.

Later in the day, we moved to the spoil islands in the middle of the river, where we cast shad-type jigs at the mangroves for redfish and under-slot snook. At one island we let the jigs swim off the shore and then sink into a deep hole that was full of school trout. The fish averaged two or three pounds, but at one point we had 16 casts in a row that got a strike or caught a fish. We also pulled a respectable flounder off the mangroves that blasted the jig just after it hit the water.